“Datel has a depth of experience in the use of Sage as wellas a team of highly experienced and very helpful consultants.We’ve been a Datel customer for quite some time nowand they know our business - not just our computer system.We all work together to provide the solution the businessrequires; the account managers, the consultants, myselfand my IT team.”Allan DoyleIT Director, Nichols Plc (Vimto)

With more than 900 customers andover 150 employees, Datel is theUK’s premier Sage business partnerrecognised in numerous awards forexcellence by Sage and its users.

“Customers like and trust Datel and they findthat they get great value from the investmentsthey make with us. They know that they canrely upon us to deliver, and that we will provideexcellent customer service during and aftertheir implementation.”Alan SimpsonExecutive Chairman, Datel

About Datel

Datel is Sage’s largest Business Partner in the UK and is acclaimed as its leading systems integration specialist.Headquartered in Warrington, Datel also has offices in Leeds and the Netherlands employing a loyal team of over 150highly-skilled people who look after its growing base of over 900 customers worldwide.

Our product range includes Sage 200, Sage ERP 1000, Sage ERP X3 and Sage Line 500 as well as our own in-houseproducts which we have developed to integrate with, and sit alongside, Sage solutions. Known as Datel FUSION, thesuite of products enhances and extends the functionality provided by the core Sage applications. We also specialisein Sage CRM and Sage SalesLogix.

Datel looks after a broad ranging base of customers including those in distribution, manufacturing, construction andthe food and drinks sectors. Typically they are mid sized companies who rely upon Datel to make the most of theirinvestment with Sage.

We pride ourselves in our approach to doing business. We seek to know and thoroughly understand our customersand their businesses so, in turn, we can appreciate fully all of the issues and challenges they face. Only then can wepresume to offer a solution that will make a real difference to the way they do business.

Everything Datel does is guided by our belief in providing only the very best in customer service.

UK Head Office

Cinnamon ParkWarringtonWA2 0XP

t +44 (0) 845 5211875f +44 (0) 1925 849111

www.datel.info

Continental Europe Head Office

Akkerdistel 2c5831 Pj BoxmeerNetherlands

t +31 (0) 485 310979f +31 (0) 485 311525

“Datel has a depth of experience in the use of Sage as wellas a team of highly experienced and very helpful consultants.We’ve been a Datel customer for quite some time nowand they know our business - not just our computer system.We all work together to provide the solution the businessrequires; the account managers, the consultants, myselfand my IT team.”Allan DoyleIT Director, Nichols Plc (Vimto)

With more than 900 customers andover 150 employees, Datel is theUK’s premier Sage business partnerrecognised in numerous awards forexcellence by Sage and its users.

“Customers like and trust Datel and they findthat they get great value from the investmentsthey make with us. They know that they canrely upon us to deliver, and that we will provideexcellent customer service during and aftertheir implementation.”Alan SimpsonExecutive Chairman, Datel

About Datel

Datel is Sage’s largest Business Partner in the UK and is acclaimed as its leading systems integration specialist.Headquartered in Warrington, Datel also has offices in Leeds and the Netherlands employing a loyal team of over 150highly-skilled people who look after its growing base of over 900 customers worldwide.

Our product range includes Sage 200, Sage ERP 1000, Sage ERP X3 and Sage Line 500 as well as our own in-houseproducts which we have developed to integrate with, and sit alongside, Sage solutions. Known as Datel FUSION, thesuite of products enhances and extends the functionality provided by the core Sage applications. We also specialisein Sage CRM and Sage SalesLogix.

Datel looks after a broad ranging base of customers including those in distribution, manufacturing, construction andthe food and drinks sectors. Typically they are mid sized companies who rely upon Datel to make the most of theirinvestment with Sage.

We pride ourselves in our approach to doing business. We seek to know and thoroughly understand our customersand their businesses so, in turn, we can appreciate fully all of the issues and challenges they face. Only then can wepresume to offer a solution that will make a real difference to the way they do business.

Everything Datel does is guided by our belief in providing only the very best in customer service.

UK Head Office

Cinnamon ParkWarringtonWA2 0XP

t +44 (0) 845 5211875f +44 (0) 1925 849111

www.datel.info

Continental Europe Head Office

Akkerdistel 2c5831 Pj BoxmeerNetherlands

t +31 (0) 485 310979f +31 (0) 485 311525

“Datel is a company that hasa prestigious set of customers,fantastic people who workbrilliantly together, and anamazing set of products thatpeople keep buying.”Alan SimpsonExecutive Chairman, Datel

“Datel’s knowledgeand enthusiasm isreally what impressedus, and theircommitment tofinding us a solutionthat fitted ourbusiness needs andcame in our budget.The implementationteam is veryknowledgeable andcan always findsolutions to what weneed to do.”

Andrew RussellFinance DirectorRuskim SeafoodsSage ERP X3 customer

Datel was established in 1981 byAlan Simpson and Graham Pugh todevelop software for businesses inthe North West. Now with over 150employees, offices in Warrington,Leeds and the Netherlands, Datelturns over in excess of £17 millionper annum and has over 900customers.

Alan Simpson, Executive Chairmanof Datel, talks about Datel’sachievements in recent years andits plans for future development.

Q. Datel has been in business forover 30 years. How did it start?

Graham and I met at British Aerospacein the late 70’s. Graham had been therelonger than I had but we both decidedthat it would be good to do somethingelse and that we could work welltogether as a team. At the time, it wasthe early days of the affordable businessPC and software was just starting totake off. Initially, we worked part-timeon the business, developing softwarefor businesses in the North West.

We did not pay particular attention tolooking after the books back in thoseearly days and it was when theaccountants came in and told us justhow much profit we had made that yearthat we decided to leave BritishAerospace and work full-time on Datel.

We quickly realised that we had todevelop our own style for ‘selling’.Obviously we needed to sell products

but our approach is not so much about‘getting a sale’, but more about findinga solution to a customer’s problem.I suppose that that comes from beingfrom a technical background and havingthat kind of curious mind. Ultimately, Ithink it has served us well as, I believe,our customers value our help and advicemore because they respect our honestapproach.

Q. Datel’s solutions are based onSage software and Datel is now oneof Sage’s largest business partners.What does that relationship mean toDatel and your customers?

First of all, we are incredibly proud tohave achieved that status. It enablesus to have direct contact with seniormanagement at Sage which means thatwe and our customers can feed intoproduct roadmaps. If ever we need helpon a particular issue we can speakimmediately to top management and,what’s more, Sage often comes to usfor technical help so that shows that theyhold our skills set in high regard too.We were a founder member of Sage’sBusiness Partner Advisory Council.

Q. Datel has also won a number ofawards and accreditations of whichyou are particularly proud.

That's right. Datel has been awardedSage Business Partner of the Yearconsistently since 2010 and has beeninvited into the Sage Circle of Excellenceas overall winner on four occasions.This is particularly important to us as it

was voted for by our own customers andwas based on how likely they would beto recommend Datel to a friend orcolleague. Sage has over 1,000 businesspartners in the UK and Ireland so toachieve this accolade is quite exceptional.

In addition, in recent years we have beenawarded Sage 200 Business Partner ofthe Year, Sage ERP X3 Business Partnerof the Year, Sage ERP 1000 BusinessPartner of the Year and Sage SalesLogixBusiness Partner of the Year. It is extremelyrewarding for the whole team to receivethese honours.

Q. What is it that sets Datel apart fromits competitors?

I think it’s a whole range of things:our people, our technical expertise,our investment in training and peopledevelopment. Certainly, we go to greatlengths to ensure that we fully understandthe issues facing a business before werecommend a solution.

On the whole, customers like and trustDatel and they find that they get greatvalue from the investments they makewith us. They know that they can relyupon us to deliver, and that we will provideexcellent customer service during and aftertheir implementation. Not just that, butwe can also offer more than just Sage.We believe we have extended Sage inseveral areas with our development of theFUSION range of software.

Q. You must invest a lot into trainingto achieve and maintain such highstandards?

As a business, we have invested anawful lot of money into training; technicalas well as personal development,internally resourced and also boughtin from external agencies.

We have had ISO 9000 - Tick ITaccreditation for some years now andwe have also invested in Sage HRsoftware that helps us streamline internalprocesses by providing a ‘self service’employee management tool to monitorsickness and holidays for instance.

Training and development are areaswhere no one can afford to stand still.There are always improvements whichcan be made.

Q. Datel is famed for its supportservice. Can you explain the secretof your success?

Now that is easy to answer - it’s downto the people! Datel has a team ofthe very best people, many of whomhave been with us for 15 years ormore, so they know the software insideout. Often, they may have originallyworked for us in the field, implementingsystems, so they have real, live systemsexperience. This makes them extremelyproactive in sorting customer issues.We have a team of around 30 so if,by chance, one person doesn’t knowthe answer, there are another 29 whocertainly will. If one person is away from

their desk, there is always someonewho can help.

Q. You mention that most of youremployees have been with you formany years and are happy to staylonger. How do you think you haveachieved such a loyal team anddeveloped such a special culture?

I think I’m a very fair and trusting personand we are always very open to tryingout new ideas and pushing theboundaries. We never apportion blamebut we positively encourage people totake things and themselves to the nextlevel of expertise. We invest an awfullot in training and winning awards andthat helps perpetuate the feel goodfactor. People are happy in their workand this all contributes to the culture.There’s usually no need for people toleave us as they can get the newchallenges and opportunities they wantby staying here. Maybe we are just goodat recognising people’s talent.

Q. Datel is a large Business Partnernow, so how do you manage tomaintain the same, high standardsof service to customers as you couldin the early days as a small business?

Over the years we have built up fantasticteams who understand Sage’s softwareinside out. We have a strong projectmanagement team who follow ourproven implementation methodology toensure projects are delivered on timeand to budget.

Although these are separate andspecialist teams, we still manage to workacross divisions with cross-functionalteams when this is required. A certainproblem may need the particular skillsof a specific area or indeed an individualwithin the organisation.

This flexibility means that, as a client’sbusiness grows and changes, and newand different challenges emerge, Datelhas teams of people available with theright level of expertise to be able to help.

Someone might have a need to improvereporting within their organisation sowe would put them in touch with ourconsultants that have expertise in thisarea to develop their ideas and advisea solution.

In my opinion, Datel’s TechnicalDevelopment team is the best teamin the entire Sage community. Sageeven asks us to do work for them fromtime to time, for instance when wehelped develop the integration serverfor SalesLogix.

We have invested heavily in developingproducts that sit alongside and integratewith the Sage product set. Our FUSIONWarehouse Management System forinstance, is a large and ever growingproduct for us as more and morecustomers are asking for it. FUSIONEnhancer is another product in the rangewe have developed, allowing customersto extend fields and functionality toexisting Sage forms, meaning that youcan add functionality such as postcodes,

add new screens, and insert .netapplications for calendaring, providingthe facility to query and report. Theapplication won an innovation award inits first year of deployment.

Datel's Managed Services team offerscustomers the chance to ‘share’ aSystems Manager, effectively enablingthem to share the cost. The clientchooses how they wish to use theservice so that they can tailor it to suittheir own requirements; this might meana total outsourcing of the IT function, orsome temporary help until they recruitto fill vacancies, or perhaps just a littleextra resource to help them managethrough spikes of unusual demand.

In 2006, Datel acted upon its ownadvice and ‘internally outsourced’responsibility for Systems Managementand End User Support, in effectbecoming an internal customer of ourown Managed Services Department.Without doubt, this change providedimmediate and significant paybackto the business and Datel gets evengreater benefit from its software systems.This is a fast-growing area of Datel’sbusiness as an increasing number ofcustomers want to have this area oftheir business managed proactively,guaranteeing them a certain level ofsupport that they would prefer not tomaintain themselves inhouse. As anexample, when Datel decided to‘outsource’ some of its inhouseadministration to Managed Services,it cost us over £250,000 in loss of timewhich could have been charged out to

clients, but it has paid for itself alreadyby reducing our debtor days by asignificant £530,000. The team pointedout how we could change our own useof systems and it has dramaticallyimproved our performance. It’s a simpleidea but it really works.

Q. So what, in your view, represents asuccessful implementation for Datel?

We work with very ambitious customersand we spend a great deal of timegetting to understand their business,their processes and the issues they arefacing. Once we’ve done that, we canthen start thinking about the best wayto give them the solution they need fortheir business. If we can achieve that,on time, on budget and give customersa return on investment that makes sensefor them, then I think we are all happy.

Q. So, what next for Datel?

I am incredibly proud of what has beenachieved both in the North West andnow on a much broader geographicscale right cross the UK and, morerecently, into Continental Europe.Datel is a company that has aprestigious set of customers, fantasticpeople who work brilliantly together, andan amazing set of products that peoplekeep buying. If we can continue toachieve the same commitment toexcellence in customer service that wehave achieved in the past, then I haveevery confidence that Datel will continueto grow and prosper as, quite simply,it stands out from the competition. “In a competitive

climate, we need toensure the IT systemson which we rely giveus every support torun our processesmore efficiently. Datelhelps us to keep upwith the technologyas the businessdevelops and grows.”

Jason RainbirdCustomer Relationship ManagerFileder Filter SystemsSage 200 Customer

“Datel is a company that hasa prestigious set of customers,fantastic people who workbrilliantly together, and anamazing set of products thatpeople keep buying.”Alan SimpsonExecutive Chairman, Datel

“Datel’s knowledgeand enthusiasm isreally what impressedus, and theircommitment tofinding us a solutionthat fitted ourbusiness needs andcame in our budget.The implementationteam is veryknowledgeable andcan always findsolutions to what weneed to do.”

Andrew RussellFinance DirectorRuskim SeafoodsSage ERP X3 customer

Datel was established in 1981 byAlan Simpson and Graham Pugh todevelop software for businesses inthe North West. Now with over 150employees, offices in Warrington,Leeds and the Netherlands, Datelturns over in excess of £17 millionper annum and has over 900customers.

Alan Simpson, Executive Chairmanof Datel, talks about Datel’sachievements in recent years andits plans for future development.

Q. Datel has been in business forover 30 years. How did it start?

Graham and I met at British Aerospacein the late 70’s. Graham had been therelonger than I had but we both decidedthat it would be good to do somethingelse and that we could work welltogether as a team. At the time, it wasthe early days of the affordable businessPC and software was just starting totake off. Initially, we worked part-timeon the business, developing softwarefor businesses in the North West.

We did not pay particular attention tolooking after the books back in thoseearly days and it was when theaccountants came in and told us justhow much profit we had made that yearthat we decided to leave BritishAerospace and work full-time on Datel.

We quickly realised that we had todevelop our own style for ‘selling’.Obviously we needed to sell products

but our approach is not so much about‘getting a sale’, but more about findinga solution to a customer’s problem.I suppose that that comes from beingfrom a technical background and havingthat kind of curious mind. Ultimately, Ithink it has served us well as, I believe,our customers value our help and advicemore because they respect our honestapproach.

Q. Datel’s solutions are based onSage software and Datel is now oneof Sage’s largest business partners.What does that relationship mean toDatel and your customers?

First of all, we are incredibly proud tohave achieved that status. It enablesus to have direct contact with seniormanagement at Sage which means thatwe and our customers can feed intoproduct roadmaps. If ever we need helpon a particular issue we can speakimmediately to top management and,what’s more, Sage often comes to usfor technical help so that shows that theyhold our skills set in high regard too.We were a founder member of Sage’sBusiness Partner Advisory Council.

Q. Datel has also won a number ofawards and accreditations of whichyou are particularly proud.

That's right. Datel has been awardedSage Business Partner of the Yearconsistently since 2010 and has beeninvited into the Sage Circle of Excellenceas overall winner on four occasions.This is particularly important to us as it

was voted for by our own customers andwas based on how likely they would beto recommend Datel to a friend orcolleague. Sage has over 1,000 businesspartners in the UK and Ireland so toachieve this accolade is quite exceptional.

In addition, in recent years we have beenawarded Sage 200 Business Partner ofthe Year, Sage ERP X3 Business Partnerof the Year, Sage ERP 1000 BusinessPartner of the Year and Sage SalesLogixBusiness Partner of the Year. It is extremelyrewarding for the whole team to receivethese honours.

Q. What is it that sets Datel apart fromits competitors?

I think it’s a whole range of things:our people, our technical expertise,our investment in training and peopledevelopment. Certainly, we go to greatlengths to ensure that we fully understandthe issues facing a business before werecommend a solution.

On the whole, customers like and trustDatel and they find that they get greatvalue from the investments they makewith us. They know that they can relyupon us to deliver, and that we will provideexcellent customer service during and aftertheir implementation. Not just that, butwe can also offer more than just Sage.We believe we have extended Sage inseveral areas with our development of theFUSION range of software.

Q. You must invest a lot into trainingto achieve and maintain such highstandards?

As a business, we have invested anawful lot of money into training; technicalas well as personal development,internally resourced and also boughtin from external agencies.

We have had ISO 9000 - Tick ITaccreditation for some years now andwe have also invested in Sage HRsoftware that helps us streamline internalprocesses by providing a ‘self service’employee management tool to monitorsickness and holidays for instance.

Training and development are areaswhere no one can afford to stand still.There are always improvements whichcan be made.

Q. Datel is famed for its supportservice. Can you explain the secretof your success?

Now that is easy to answer - it’s downto the people! Datel has a team ofthe very best people, many of whomhave been with us for 15 years ormore, so they know the software insideout. Often, they may have originallyworked for us in the field, implementingsystems, so they have real, live systemsexperience. This makes them extremelyproactive in sorting customer issues.We have a team of around 30 so if,by chance, one person doesn’t knowthe answer, there are another 29 whocertainly will. If one person is away from

their desk, there is always someonewho can help.

Q. You mention that most of youremployees have been with you formany years and are happy to staylonger. How do you think you haveachieved such a loyal team anddeveloped such a special culture?

I think I’m a very fair and trusting personand we are always very open to tryingout new ideas and pushing theboundaries. We never apportion blamebut we positively encourage people totake things and themselves to the nextlevel of expertise. We invest an awfullot in training and winning awards andthat helps perpetuate the feel goodfactor. People are happy in their workand this all contributes to the culture.There’s usually no need for people toleave us as they can get the newchallenges and opportunities they wantby staying here. Maybe we are just goodat recognising people’s talent.

Q. Datel is a large Business Partnernow, so how do you manage tomaintain the same, high standardsof service to customers as you couldin the early days as a small business?

Over the years we have built up fantasticteams who understand Sage’s softwareinside out. We have a strong projectmanagement team who follow ourproven implementation methodology toensure projects are delivered on timeand to budget.

Although these are separate andspecialist teams, we still manage to workacross divisions with cross-functionalteams when this is required. A certainproblem may need the particular skillsof a specific area or indeed an individualwithin the organisation.

This flexibility means that, as a client’sbusiness grows and changes, and newand different challenges emerge, Datelhas teams of people available with theright level of expertise to be able to help.

Someone might have a need to improvereporting within their organisation sowe would put them in touch with ourconsultants that have expertise in thisarea to develop their ideas and advisea solution.

In my opinion, Datel’s TechnicalDevelopment team is the best teamin the entire Sage community. Sageeven asks us to do work for them fromtime to time, for instance when wehelped develop the integration serverfor SalesLogix.

We have invested heavily in developingproducts that sit alongside and integratewith the Sage product set. Our FUSIONWarehouse Management System forinstance, is a large and ever growingproduct for us as more and morecustomers are asking for it. FUSIONEnhancer is another product in the rangewe have developed, allowing customersto extend fields and functionality toexisting Sage forms, meaning that youcan add functionality such as postcodes,

add new screens, and insert .netapplications for calendaring, providingthe facility to query and report. Theapplication won an innovation award inits first year of deployment.

Datel's Managed Services team offerscustomers the chance to ‘share’ aSystems Manager, effectively enablingthem to share the cost. The clientchooses how they wish to use theservice so that they can tailor it to suittheir own requirements; this might meana total outsourcing of the IT function, orsome temporary help until they recruitto fill vacancies, or perhaps just a littleextra resource to help them managethrough spikes of unusual demand.

In 2006, Datel acted upon its ownadvice and ‘internally outsourced’responsibility for Systems Managementand End User Support, in effectbecoming an internal customer of ourown Managed Services Department.Without doubt, this change providedimmediate and significant paybackto the business and Datel gets evengreater benefit from its software systems.This is a fast-growing area of Datel’sbusiness as an increasing number ofcustomers want to have this area oftheir business managed proactively,guaranteeing them a certain level ofsupport that they would prefer not tomaintain themselves inhouse. As anexample, when Datel decided to

‘outsource’ some of its inhouseadministration to Managed Services,it cost us over £250,000 in loss of timewhich could have been charged out to

clients, but it has paid for itself alreadyby reducing our debtor days by asignificant £530,000. The team pointedout how we could change our own useof systems and it has dramaticallyimproved our performance. It’s a simpleidea but it really works.

Q. So what, in your view, represents asuccessful implementation for Datel?

We work with very ambitious customersand we spend a great deal of timegetting to understand their business,their processes and the issues they arefacing. Once we’ve done that, we canthen start thinking about the best wayto give them the solution they need fortheir business. If we can achieve that,on time, on budget and give customersa return on investment that makes sensefor them, then I think we are all happy.

Q. So, what next for Datel?

I am incredibly proud of what has beenachieved both in the North West andnow on a much broader geographicscale right cross the UK and, morerecently, into Continental Europe.Datel is a company that has aprestigious set of customers, fantasticpeople who work brilliantly together, andan amazing set of products that peoplekeep buying. If we can continue toachieve the same commitment toexcellence in customer service that wehave achieved in the past, then I haveevery confidence that Datel will continueto grow and prosper as, quite simply,it stands out from the competition. “In a competitive

climate, we need toensure the IT systemson which we rely giveus every support torun our processesmore efficiently. Datelhelps us to keep upwith the technologyas the businessdevelops and grows.”

Jason RainbirdCustomer Relationship ManagerFileder Filter SystemsSage 200 Customer

“Datel is a company that hasa prestigious set of customers,fantastic people who workbrilliantly together, and anamazing set of products thatpeople keep buying.”Alan SimpsonExecutive Chairman, Datel

“Datel’s knowledgeand enthusiasm isreally what impressedus, and theircommitment tofinding us a solutionthat fitted ourbusiness needs andcame in our budget.The implementationteam is veryknowledgeable andcan always findsolutions to what weneed to do.”

Andrew RussellFinance DirectorRuskim SeafoodsSage ERP X3 customer

Datel was established in 1981 byAlan Simpson and Graham Pugh todevelop software for businesses inthe North West. Now with over 150employees, offices in Warrington,Leeds and the Netherlands, Datelturns over in excess of £17 millionper annum and has over 900customers.

Alan Simpson, Executive Chairmanof Datel, talks about Datel’sachievements in recent years andits plans for future development.

Q. Datel has been in business forover 30 years. How did it start?

Graham and I met at British Aerospacein the late 70’s. Graham had been therelonger than I had but we both decidedthat it would be good to do somethingelse and that we could work welltogether as a team. At the time, it wasthe early days of the affordable businessPC and software was just starting totake off. Initially, we worked part-timeon the business, developing softwarefor businesses in the North West.

We did not pay particular attention tolooking after the books back in thoseearly days and it was when theaccountants came in and told us justhow much profit we had made that yearthat we decided to leave BritishAerospace and work full-time on Datel.

We quickly realised that we had todevelop our own style for ‘selling’.Obviously we needed to sell products

but our approach is not so much about‘getting a sale’, but more about findinga solution to a customer’s problem.I suppose that that comes from beingfrom a technical background and havingthat kind of curious mind. Ultimately, Ithink it has served us well as, I believe,our customers value our help and advicemore because they respect our honestapproach.

Q. Datel’s solutions are based onSage software and Datel is now oneof Sage’s largest business partners.What does that relationship mean toDatel and your customers?

First of all, we are incredibly proud tohave achieved that status. It enablesus to have direct contact with seniormanagement at Sage which means thatwe and our customers can feed intoproduct roadmaps. If ever we need helpon a particular issue we can speakimmediately to top management and,what’s more, Sage often comes to usfor technical help so that shows that theyhold our skills set in high regard too.We were a founder member of Sage’sBusiness Partner Advisory Council.

Q. Datel has also won a number ofawards and accreditations of whichyou are particularly proud.

That's right. Datel has been awardedSage Business Partner of the Yearconsistently since 2010 and has beeninvited into the Sage Circle of Excellenceas overall winner on four occasions.This is particularly important to us as it

was voted for by our own customers andwas based on how likely they would beto recommend Datel to a friend orcolleague. Sage has over 1,000 businesspartners in the UK and Ireland so toachieve this accolade is quite exceptional.

In addition, in recent years we have beenawarded Sage 200 Business Partner ofthe Year, Sage ERP X3 Business Partnerof the Year, Sage ERP 1000 BusinessPartner of the Year and Sage SalesLogixBusiness Partner of the Year. It is extremelyrewarding for the whole team to receivethese honours.

Q. What is it that sets Datel apart fromits competitors?

I think it’s a whole range of things:our people, our technical expertise,our investment in training and peopledevelopment. Certainly, we go to greatlengths to ensure that we fully understandthe issues facing a business before werecommend a solution.

On the whole, customers like and trustDatel and they find that they get greatvalue from the investments they makewith us. They know that they can relyupon us to deliver, and that we will provideexcellent customer service during and aftertheir implementation. Not just that, butwe can also offer more than just Sage.We believe we have extended Sage inseveral areas with our development of theFUSION range of software.

Q. You must invest a lot into trainingto achieve and maintain such highstandards?

As a business, we have invested anawful lot of money into training; technicalas well as personal development,internally resourced and also boughtin from external agencies.

We have had ISO 9000 - Tick ITaccreditation for some years now andwe have also invested in Sage HRsoftware that helps us streamline internalprocesses by providing a ‘self service’employee management tool to monitorsickness and holidays for instance.

Training and development are areaswhere no one can afford to stand still.There are always improvements whichcan be made.

Q. Datel is famed for its supportservice. Can you explain the secretof your success?

Now that is easy to answer - it’s downto the people! Datel has a team ofthe very best people, many of whomhave been with us for 15 years ormore, so they know the software insideout. Often, they may have originallyworked for us in the field, implementingsystems, so they have real, live systemsexperience. This makes them extremelyproactive in sorting customer issues.We have a team of around 30 so if,by chance, one person doesn’t knowthe answer, there are another 29 whocertainly will. If one person is away from

their desk, there is always someonewho can help.

Q. You mention that most of youremployees have been with you formany years and are happy to staylonger. How do you think you haveachieved such a loyal team anddeveloped such a special culture?

I think I’m a very fair and trusting personand we are always very open to tryingout new ideas and pushing theboundaries. We never apportion blamebut we positively encourage people totake things and themselves to the nextlevel of expertise. We invest an awfullot in training and winning awards andthat helps perpetuate the feel goodfactor. People are happy in their workand this all contributes to the culture.There’s usually no need for people toleave us as they can get the newchallenges and opportunities they wantby staying here. Maybe we are just goodat recognising people’s talent.

Q. Datel is a large Business Partnernow, so how do you manage tomaintain the same, high standardsof service to customers as you couldin the early days as a small business?

Over the years we have built up fantasticteams who understand Sage’s softwareinside out. We have a strong projectmanagement team who follow ourproven implementation methodology toensure projects are delivered on timeand to budget.

Although these are separate andspecialist teams, we still manage to workacross divisions with cross-functionalteams when this is required. A certainproblem may need the particular skillsof a specific area or indeed an individualwithin the organisation.

This flexibility means that, as a client’sbusiness grows and changes, and newand different challenges emerge, Datelhas teams of people available with theright level of expertise to be able to help.

Someone might have a need to improvereporting within their organisation sowe would put them in touch with ourconsultants that have expertise in thisarea to develop their ideas and advisea solution.

In my opinion, Datel’s TechnicalDevelopment team is the best teamin the entire Sage community. Sageeven asks us to do work for them fromtime to time, for instance when wehelped develop the integration serverfor SalesLogix.

We have invested heavily in developingproducts that sit alongside and integratewith the Sage product set. Our FUSIONWarehouse Management System forinstance, is a large and ever growingproduct for us as more and morecustomers are asking for it. FUSIONEnhancer is another product in the rangewe have developed, allowing customersto extend fields and functionality toexisting Sage forms, meaning that youcan add functionality such as postcodes,

add new screens, and insert .netapplications for calendaring, providingthe facility to query and report. Theapplication won an innovation award inits first year of deployment.

Datel's Managed Services team offerscustomers the chance to ‘share’ aSystems Manager, effectively enablingthem to share the cost. The clientchooses how they wish to use theservice so that they can tailor it to suittheir own requirements; this might meana total outsourcing of the IT function, orsome temporary help until they recruitto fill vacancies, or perhaps just a littleextra resource to help them managethrough spikes of unusual demand.

In 2006, Datel acted upon its ownadvice and ‘internally outsourced’responsibility for Systems Managementand End User Support, in effectbecoming an internal customer of ourown Managed Services Department.Without doubt, this change providedimmediate and significant paybackto the business and Datel gets evengreater benefit from its software systems.This is a fast-growing area of Datel’sbusiness as an increasing number ofcustomers want to have this area oftheir business managed proactively,guaranteeing them a certain level ofsupport that they would prefer not tomaintain themselves inhouse. As anexample, when Datel decided to‘outsource’ some of its inhouseadministration to Managed Services,it cost us over £250,000 in loss of timewhich could have been charged out to

clients, but it has paid for itself alreadyby reducing our debtor days by asignificant £530,000. The team pointedout how we could change our own useof systems and it has dramaticallyimproved our performance. It’s a simpleidea but it really works.

Q. So what, in your view, represents asuccessful implementation for Datel?

We work with very ambitious customersand we spend a great deal of timegetting to understand their business,their processes and the issues they arefacing. Once we’ve done that, we canthen start thinking about the best wayto give them the solution they need fortheir business. If we can achieve that,on time, on budget and give customersa return on investment that makes sensefor them, then I think we are all happy.

Q. So, what next for Datel?

I am incredibly proud of what has beenachieved both in the North West andnow on a much broader geographicscale right cross the UK and, morerecently, into Continental Europe.Datel is a company that has aprestigious set of customers, fantasticpeople who work brilliantly together, andan amazing set of products that peoplekeep buying. If we can continue toachieve the same commitment toexcellence in customer service that wehave achieved in the past, then I haveevery confidence that Datel will continueto grow and prosper as, quite simply,it stands out from the competition. “In a competitive

climate, we need toensure the IT systemson which we rely giveus every support torun our processesmore efficiently. Datelhelps us to keep upwith the technologyas the businessdevelops and grows.”

Jason RainbirdCustomer Relationship ManagerFileder Filter SystemsSage 200 Customer

“Datel has a depth of experience in the use of Sage as wellas a team of highly experienced and very helpful consultants.We’ve been a Datel customer for quite some time nowand they know our business - not just our computer system.We all work together to provide the solution the businessrequires; the account managers, the consultants, myselfand my IT team.”Allan DoyleIT Director, Nichols Plc (Vimto)

With more than 900 customers andover 150 employees, Datel is theUK’s premier Sage business partnerrecognised in numerous awards forexcellence by Sage and its users.

“Customers like and trust Datel and they findthat they get great value from the investmentsthey make with us. They know that they canrely upon us to deliver, and that we will provideexcellent customer service during and aftertheir implementation.”Alan SimpsonExecutive Chairman, Datel

About Datel

Datel is Sage’s largest Business Partner in the UK and is acclaimed as its leading systems integration specialist.Headquartered in Warrington, Datel also has offices in Leeds and the Netherlands employing a loyal team of over 150highly-skilled people who look after its growing base of over 900 customers worldwide.

Our product range includes Sage 200, Sage ERP 1000, Sage ERP X3 and Sage Line 500 as well as our own in-houseproducts which we have developed to integrate with, and sit alongside, Sage solutions. Known as Datel FUSION, thesuite of products enhances and extends the functionality provided by the core Sage applications. We also specialisein Sage CRM and Sage SalesLogix.

Datel looks after a broad ranging base of customers including those in distribution, manufacturing, construction andthe food and drinks sectors. Typically they are mid sized companies who rely upon Datel to make the most of theirinvestment with Sage.

We pride ourselves in our approach to doing business. We seek to know and thoroughly understand our customersand their businesses so, in turn, we can appreciate fully all of the issues and challenges they face. Only then can wepresume to offer a solution that will make a real difference to the way they do business.

Everything Datel does is guided by our belief in providing only the very best in customer service.

UK Head Office

Cinnamon ParkWarringtonWA2 0XP

t +44 (0) 845 5211875f +44 (0) 1925 849111

www.datel.info

Continental Europe Head Office

Akkerdistel 2c5831 Pj BoxmeerNetherlands

t +31 (0) 485 310979f +31 (0) 485 311525